Disinfo: Mueller didn't find any evidence of the alleged Russian intervention in the US presidential elections

Summary

For two years US special prosecutor Robert Mueller investigated the alleged Russian intervention in the US presidential elections but did not find any evidence of collusion between US President Donald Trump and Moscow — which was denied both in the Kremlin and in the White House. In his first public statement in all this time, Mueller stated that his office was closing, and he was retiring, as the investigation was completed, and stressed that he could not provide any other information besides what has already been made public.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Robert Mueller's investigation concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Mueller's report determined that there were "two main Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election". It led to US senators' proposals to extend sanctions on Russia to deter it from further election meddling. The claim that the report provides no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion is spurious. Gathering evidence of "collusion" - which is not a legal concept - fell outside the scope of the investigation. The aim of the probe was not merely to ascertain contacts between the Trump Campaign and Russia-linked individuals during the election period, but to establish whether these interactions were deliberate enough on the part of Trump Campaign officials to sustain charges of conspiracy (p. 2). The report explicitly identifies "numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign" (p. 9). Find more disinformation cases on this issue here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 152
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/06/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Russia
  • Keywords: election meddling, Robert Mueller
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Disinfo: The MH17 Joint Investigation Team is ignoring information presented by the Buk manufacturer

According to the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which has been investigating the disaster since 2014, the aircraft was attacked with a ground-to-air missile of the Buk series. JIT recently published a new report stating that the missile was fired from an area controlled by the [Donetsk Republic’s] People’s Militia. The rocket is said to have been brought there from Russia. However, this data contradicts the results of more than 100 field experiments of the Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey, who has even destroyed a disassembled aircraft with a rocket in the course of their own investigations. The arms company accused investigators of ignoring important technical data of the rocket and of adapting their conclusion to an already prefabricated opinion.

Disproof

The claims by Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey were debunked already in 2015 by Bellingcat.

The Joint Investigation Team has concluded that flight MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014 by a missile of the 9M38 series, launched by a BUK-TELAR, from farmland in the vicinity of Pervomaiskiy. At that time, the area was controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The BUK-TELAR was brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation and subsequently, after having shot down flight MH17, was taken back to the Russian Federation.

Disinfo: Political scandal in Austria was a CIA operation to stop the construction of NordStream 2

The political scandal in Austria was in fact an operation by the CIA to deliver a blow to the forces that were positive about political and economic cooperation with Russia. It is a part of a larger task, set by President Trump, to stop the construction on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory, consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about political scandal in Austria, Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and US presence in Europe. There is no evidence of Strache-affair being part of a CIA operation, nor any ground to claim that political events in Austria were related to the construction of Nord Stream 2. Both German magazine Der Spiegel and newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung have been open about their investigation. According to the media outlets, they obtained the video footage in May 2019 and published it after verifying its authenticity. The media has not disclosed who provided the video in order to protect their sources. Pro-Kremlin media has spread multiple contradicting messages about the source of the video, without giving any evidence to back their claims.

Disinfo: International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction over war in the Donbas and the annexation of the Crimea

The annexation of the Crimea and the start of the Russian war in Donbas cannot be considered acts of terrorism against Ukraine. Kyiv has no right to file a lawsuit against Russia, and the International Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction to consider such a case.

Disproof

The lawsuit referred to was filed by then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in early 2017. Ukraine accuses Russia of financing terrorism and violating the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism: Kyiv intends to call the Russian side to account for the war in the Donbas and the occupation of the Crimea. The hearings, which took place in The Hague from 3-7 June, should determine whether the court has the authority to hear the case. It’s too early to say that the UN International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to consider a number of cases related to Russia's aggression - it may take about half a year to do so. Earlier, the tribunal already met part of the requirements of Ukraine to Russia under one of the conventions - on the prohibition of racial discrimination. In 2017, the court issued a temporary decision, according to which Russia must stop the persecution of the Crimean Tatars, to allow the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and to ensure accessibility of education in the Ukrainian language in the annexed Crimea. Russia ignored these requirements. Read further debunk by StopFake.